My Amazon Reviews: The Tubes "Young and Rich/Now"

Young and Rich; 4 Stars, Now; 3 Stars
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Finally, a sound upgrade for The Tubes' "Young and Rich." Or for that matter, that it's back in print at non-extortion prices. The Tubes got some serious road work in after their first album, and it shows on "Young And Rich." They also had a more sympathetic producer in Ken Scott (over Al Kooper's helming of album one). Scott gave "Young And Rich" a sense of discipline, and you need go no further than "Tubes World Tour" to catch how fast the Tubes had grown under his control in the studio. A tightly wound if somewhat exaggerated account of the mayhem that trailed in the wake of The Tubes' concerts, it has a conciseness that the first album lacked.

The range displayed on "Young And Rich" is also evident on the album's next two songs. "Pimp" and "Brighter Day" feature vocals from Bill Spooner and Roger Steen, giving the individual Tubes a chance to prove they were more than Fee's backers. But Waybill (listed here as "method frontman") struts his stuff admirably. His finest moments on "Young And Rich" come with the progressive opus "Poland Whole/Madam I'm Adam" (where Fee reluctantly is cast as man one in God's creation porno-movie and Cher is his Eve) and the almost Top 40 "Don't Touch Me There" duet with Re Styles.

A highlight of their live shows, "Don't Touch Me There" sent up girl groups with a Phil Spector wall of innuendo that was at once finely crafted and hilarious. It's the kind of media satire that would be honed to perfection by their next album. In fact, the only misstep here is "Proud To be An American," which plays it too close to "What Do You Want From Life" to come off as clever. Other than that, "Young And Rich" comes highly recommended and shows The Tubes ducking the dreaded sophomore slump.

The same could not be said of "Now," which could be The Tubes' most experimental album. That's not saying the music is all too interesting, frankly, it's not. There was everything here from fusion jazz experimentation ("God-Bird-Change," the main contribution from one album member Mingo Lewis) to a Captain Beefheart cover of "My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains." Which was apparently enough to get the Captain himself to sit in on sax for the otherwise draggy "Cathy's Clone," Re Styles' vocal contribution to "Now." On the original liner notes to the LP, The Tubes gave heavy acknowledgement of having recently discovering The Ramones. So in tribute, they nick Dee Dee's trademark "One Two Three Four" kickoff and insert it twice into "You're No Fun."

Fun is exactly what is missing from "Now." There are a couple of Tubes Classics here ("Smoke" and "Pound Of Flesh," in which Fee brags about being a 98 pound weakling with another, more serious attribute). But for a band that made their bones on outrageousness and top-notch musicianship, "Now" comes up short. They'd blow "Now" out of the water soon after with the genius of "Remote Control." Think of it as parallel to Alice Cooper's lackluster "Muscle of Love" before the brilliant "Welcome To My Nightmare" concept.

As a pair, it's worth having just to get the disc of "Young and Rich."

     

My Amazon Reviews: Marilyn Manson "Born Villain"

Reborn Again,
3 Out of 5 Stars

Manson jumps to the world of Indie-recording and delivers a big bang. "Born Villain" is his heaviest album since "The Golden Age of Grotesque" and sounds like he's back to being a bad-guy. Or at least a bad guy that isn't going though the motions. Gloriously gory, obviously obscene, flirtatious and filthy, all while MM wallows in some back to basics bible bashing. Have you heard it all before? Of course you have. But sometimes some gratuitous sex and violence in your hard rock makes for good junk food.

"Born Villain" works the turf like the pro Manson is. Starting with a "Life Sucks" number and closing with a deconstructed cover (featuring, of all people, Johnny Depp on one bluesy guitar), Manson sneers and winks his way along some well trodden paths. The highlights include the ode to sexual abuse in "Pistol Whipped," the talking blues of "The Gardener" and the mangling of "You're So Vain." There's plenty of absorbed Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop in these three songs alone to make this tasty.

Then there's the unexpected stuff, like the MacBeth soliloquy that opens "Overneath The Path of Misery;"

""And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."

Yes, it's Shakespearean, and Manson chews through it in a carnivorous whisper. Just when I thought the guy didn't have any shocks left in his bag of tricks, he pulls one off. It's glitter from the gutter, and Manson, with "Born Villain," is back in form.

    

My Amazon Reviews: Alice Cooper "Welcome 2 My Nightmare "

Alice and Vince Gill are buddies?
4 Out Of 5 Stars


Maybe the strangest aspect of "Welcome 2 My Nightmare" is Alice Cooper's guest list. Kei$sha makes a convincing auto-tuned devil on "What Baby Wants," and his old buddies from the classic days, Micheal Bruce, Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith rejoin Alice for the first time since "Muscle of Love." Bob Ezrin gets back into the producer's chair. Steve Hunter (guitars on the first "Nightmare") is back in the fold, along with Dick Wagner. Rob Zombie drops in. But weirder than anything else is that Vince Gill plays lead guitar. Not just once as a novelty, but twice. And fer cryin' out loud, on "Runaway Train," he freaking shreds.

Yep. Alice Cooper and Vince Gill are pals, golfing buddies, even. It's just one of the pieces that makes "Welcome 2 My Nightmare" work better than you'd ever expect. Alice has never really retired the "Nightmare" concept, as little Steven has popped up on plenty of albums since 1975. "Goes To Hell," "The Last Temptation" and 2008's "Along Came a Spider" were all extensions of Steven's sleepy-time. However, Alice has never explicitly labeled them as sequels to the original "Nightmare," so when the familiar piano tinkle leads off "I Am Made of You" (despite the Linkin Park styled Auto-Tune) he makes the connection as obvious as he can.

Before you know it, Steven is running out of ways to stay awake ("Caffeine, Caffeine") and is on-board the nightmare express. The aforementioned Vince Gill exits Nashville pickin' for a ripping solo on Alice's Hellbound "Runaway Train" (his other solo is the more subdued "I Gotta Get Out of Here," the obligatory 'Steven wakes up' number). Alice's playful nature stays up on tracks like "Ghouls Gone Wild" and the first single "I'll Bite Your Face Off." Nor does the sinister Alice stay away, as "When Hell Comes Home" goes serious on a very dark topic. More obvious than anything is that Alice is clearly enjoying himself and resurgent popularity ("Along Came a Spider" was his first Top 100 entry in over a decade), and despite the obvious attempt to attach this album to a past highlight via title, "Welcome 2" is a darn fine rock album.